Game of Fear (Montgomery Justice #3)(30)

“God, I’m sorry. What about the cops?”

“It’s . . . complicated,” Gabe said, stroking Deb’s palm, knowing nothing he could do would comfort her, not until they found Ashley. “I have another request. Could you research the game Point of Entry? I have a copy with me and I need to know how to play.”

“Don’t have to research P.O.E., Gabe. I have the game set up on my system. I’m pretty good at it. You might as well come here.”

“Thanks.”

Luke hesitated. “You have any leads?”

Gabe met Deb’s eyes and recognized the despair on the fringes of hope. He couldn’t make it worse. “We’re making progress.” If you called getting more questions than answers progress. “If you talk to Zach, tell him I may need his help for another day or two.”

“From what I hear, Hawk’s taking care of Sammy’s pretty well. Both Zach and Jenna went over to help. I guess having the Dark Avenger as a bouncer is keeping your rowdier clientele in line.”

Gabe laughed, despite his crushing concerns. “I didn’t even think of that when I asked Zach to fill in for me today. I may have to hire him permanently. What’s Jenna doing there?”

“Keeping the flood of new female customers away from her handsome ex-movie star husband and cooking in the back. She sends the kitchen guys out to bus tables and stuff whenever possible.”

“The cooks didn’t give her a hard time about it?”

“No sane man messes with a hormonal pregnant woman. Especially one that far along.”

Gabe didn’t speak for a moment. “Have Zach keep her in the kitchen as much as he can.”

Luke laughed. “Sexist much? Want her barefoot, too, since Jenna’s already pregnant and in the kitchen?”

“No, you jerk. I want her safe. It would be better if she wasn’t even there. I keep having that itchy target feeling on my back. Not sure what’s causing it, but I know better than to ignore the warning. Ask everyone in the family to be extra careful. Okay?”

The phone went quiet. “What aren’t you telling me, Gabe?”

A lot. “We’ll talk later.”

“Count on it,” Luke said tightly. “I’ll have more than a few probing questions of my own.”

Gabe ended the call.

“This entire situation is insane,” Deb said, leaning her head back against the seat.

Gabe pulled her into his arms. To his surprise, she immediately melted against him as if she’d been waiting for his touch.

She looked up at him. “I am so scared, Gabe. Ashley has been gone too long.”

“I’m here to help.” He kissed her forehead, then her lips, gently, giving comfort the only way he knew how. He was worried for her sister, too. “We’ll find Ashley,” he said, then sent up a silent prayer that if they did, she’d still be alive.

A sudden pounding on Deb’s window had Gabe reaching for his weapon. He pulled the Glock. Mylo saw the gun and fell backward. He hadn’t even stopped to put on a jacket, despite the frigid temperatures.

Deb slid down her window. “What’s wrong?”

“Britney’s mom just called to ask her a question, but I said she hadn’t made it here yet.” Mylo’s voice cracked. “Her mom said Britney left two hours ago and their hotel is only ten minutes away.”




Two stressful hours later, cold bit into Gabe’s face. He shoved his hands into his pockets at the entrance to Luke’s ranch-style house. Deb stood beside him, her hood up, her cheeks red from the icy wind.

Immediately the door flew open. Gabe couldn’t miss the worry on his brother’s face. He glanced at Deb, then relaxed his expression. “Took you long enough. What did you do? Take a detour to China on your way here?”

“We had to stop at the Colorado Springs Police Department again. There’s another girl missing. I wanted to reinforce the unlikely coincidence of three teenagers disappearing from the same town in a matter of days.”

Luke frowned, holding the door open for them to enter. “How long has she been gone?”

“At least four hours,” Deb said, her voice cracking with emotion. “Justin disappeared Saturday. Ashley on Sunday. Now, Britney on Monday. Even the police have to act on this now. I wish they’d call in the FBI.”

Luke closed the door behind them. “My wife and daughter will be home soon, so why don’t we go into the den. We can view the video clip in private.”

Gabe shrugged out of his coat, then helped Deb out of hers. They followed Luke into a wood-paneled room with a computer system and gaming equipment. Once everyone was inside, he shut and locked the door.

Gabe studied the impressive system. It wasn’t as elaborate as Mylo’s, but his brother was obviously no slouch at gaming, either. “Is this computer used for any of your newspaper work or investigations?”

“No, that’s in my office. I try to keep the murder and mayhem files there, away from Joy’s curious little eyes. As it is, I have to lock up any games not rated E for Everyone. She saw a few of the covers of M games I left out and was not happy she couldn’t play them. She’s all too eager to move past Hello Kitty and onto the big-kid games.”

“That girl is four going on fourteen.”